For folks driving down Dryades Street in Central City, there's a colorful tree that's catching people's eyes.Mardi Gras beads hang from the branches, stuffed animals peek through the leaves and other signs of life illuminate a seemingly ordinary Crepe Myrtle.However, nestled below all the decor, stands the true meaning behind its beautification, honoring the life lost at this very spot.

On Sept. 6, 2014, Shaffee Dawson had just wrapped up a dice game with friends, and was on his way to his mother's home when the unthinkable happened.

A masked man tracked him down near the corner of Draydes and Seventh streets and gunned him down in front of his mother's home.

"Basically a masked person came up and shot him multiple times with a high-powered weapon and fled the area," said Detective Debra Normand with the New Orleans Police Department Cold Case Division.

Officers were able to track down the AK-74 used in the crime, but could not track down the gunman.

As soon as she received the call about Dawson's death, his aunt, Mary Spears, made the long trip from Ponchatoula to New Orleans.She had raised Dawson as a child on the Northshore and had warned him about the dangers lurking in the Crescent City.

"I always told him, 'New Orleans is not for you son, stay in the country.' I said 'I had a strong vision that you were going to get hurt down there.' And he did," Spears said.

Spears said she is not giving up in the hunt for her nephew's killer and hopes that the neighbors in the area will come forward with information.

"I'm not going to stop until I get some justice done," Spears said. "I'm going keep coming even if it takes me years and years. I need to mend my heart. My heart is broken. And I know these folks saw this, because when I came down here, the streets were too full for no one to see anything."

She hopes the tree that now stands in his memory serves as a reminder of what happens when a community stays silent, and compels witnesses to come forward with information.